Cub Cadet XT1 feels tippy on uneven ground

[bullrider]

I've got an XT1 with the EFI engine. Other than the first engine blowing itself to smithereens at 2 hours and needing replaced, it's been reliable and the EFI works well. But now I have a problem and I wonder what anyone else might think.

Last summer I moved to a new place where part of my back yard and part of my front yard are sloped. It doesn't look like that much but it's causing me some trouble. In both front and back yards the sloped part of the yard runs along a culvert or a ditch so I have to mow it sideways, I can't mow it up and down. I never noticed this at my old house which was mostly on flat ground, but now at this new house there are significant parts of my yard where the Cub feels 'tippy', like it's on the verge of going over sideways. I have to raise myself up to sit on the high side edge of the seat to feel like I'm not gonna possibly tip. Before this I had an older Wheel Horse 10hp, the larger frame model, and I don't remember it ever feeling unstable (and I did have a few areas at my old place which were a bit sloped).
I have the chance to pick up a rear discharge Wheel Horse in excellent shape for $550 and I can definitely get more than that for my Cub. Does anyone else here have any opinions on the stability of the XT1 when mowing sideways on sloped ground, i.e. have you noticed the same thing about it feeling tippy?

 

[bertsmobile1]

IT is a centre of gravity thing
This is a product of the height of the mower & the width of the track
All tractor mower trannies are basically the same if you look at the mounting bolt holes there are two sets
A close one for narrow framed mowers & a wider one for wider frames usually found on Garden tractors .
Then there is the wheel off sets that will space the wheels further apart thus make the mower feel more stable .
I have a lot of places where I have to ride side saddle in order to stop the mower rolling over and yes it feels uneasy
Garden tractors have a wider track but most have bigger wheels so raise the seat height thus the left had takes what the right hand gives.
Standing mowers are the best solution for mowing along slopes.
However there is another consideration being that the oil pick up is 1/2 way between the crankshaft & the side of the crankcase
So running along a slope can cause the oil pump to be pumping air rather than oil which most engines object to .

 

[sgkent]

mow on a diagonal so you have less tippy.

 

[StarTech]

Most of the mowers are not that stable when mowing my ditches here. Just depends on the center of gravity. The higher you sit on the mower the more tipsy they are. My neighbor Super Z has a low center of gravity which mowing my ditches easier. My personal mower I have to sit on the seat one sided with my split on the edge or the mower loses traction. I even had unusual experience of crabbing a JD SST16 on the same ditches, actually going sideways. Even ZTRs have to be crabbed a little due how they steer the mower. Wider wheel base side to side helps.

As some mentioned it not good to be running an engine on these slopes especially ones with just an oil slinger as engine oiling is a problem.

 

[bullrider]

Thanks all for the responses. The thing about my situation is that the slope is not all that steep, not to the eye, so I'm not in any danger of the oil pickup sucking air. Not at all. It's just that it doesn't seem to take that much of a slope for the Cub to feel tippy enough to make me uneasy. The yard itself is actually pretty small but hey I'm 65, it gets hot in southern Indiana along the Ohio River and I'd as soon not push-mow my whole yard so I want a rider. Mowing on the diagonal would be a good idea if the yard was a lot bigger. I'm actually surprised that the Cub feels as it does but looking at it I see I'm more sitting on top of it than 'in' it as I was with my old Wheel Horse, so the center of gravity is higher also. I'm seriously considering making a change, which is with mixed feelings since the Cub has been very good since I got the engine replaced. (The original one blew up REAL good with 2 hrs on it.)

 

[bertsmobile1]

There should be a few used standers around
I think Great Dane introduced them back in the 80's
The surfer range from memory
JD & Gravely both do standers & they are becoming quite popular as the novelty value diminishes and the prices become more reasonable .
The commercial boys like them because they can get 2 mowers on a trailer that just barely took a single ZTR and because you are standing not sitting that eliminates the risk of thrombosis . Apparently the vibes on your feet are really good for the circulation .
As for oil starvation have a real good look at your engine
The sump can be 18" across but only 1.5" deep so it does not take much of a tilt to drastically reduce the oil supply to the pump.

 

[bullrider]

Thanks again for the suggestions. I'm actually leaning towards a used Wheel Horse like the one I had before. I only sold it because it had something breaking on it every time I went to use it and unfortunately I never really got anything fixed properly, it was always just good enough to get through the week. When the belt for the mower deck broke - and it was a bugger to replace - I decided 'time for something new' and bought the Cub. Never realized that there would be a different in stability. The sloping parts of my lawn cannot possibly be enough to starve the engine for oil but they sure do make the tractor feel like it's gonna go over if I am not careful.

 

[sgkent]

do they make an outrigger attachment for it?

 

[bullrider]

do they make an outrigger attachment for it?

For the Cub? Wouldn't help, I have to mow along a ditch and a culvert. Nothing to prop it against.

 

[Charlie8d]

I used to have a yard with a few sloped areas that were similar. I also had to sit on the upper edge of the seat & lean. My wife could mow it without much trouble, because she was much smaller than me.